Crushed
by Lollijoy
Summary: Max was holding his stomach as shudders racked his body, a large boyish grin on his face as he laughed uncontrollably. This made Nikki feel weird. It was like bugs were crawling around in her stomach, almost like the pains from when she was having The Period, but...nicer. Way nicer. She felt her face warm up, even though the water around her was cool.
1. Chapter 1

It all started when the campers went swimming.

It was a beautiful summer day out, and the lake smelt only slightly of sewage; which in turn made David grin gleefully and tell them to get their bathing suits. The campers didn't groan as loud as they usually did, and ran off to their tents to change before running to the lake.

"C'mon, guys! I can't catch all these fish by myself!" Nikki grinned, her turquoise hair plastered to her face from jumping in. She sat in shallow water now, playing with the wet sand and trying to catch little fish. Meanwhile, Neil stood on the dock, frowning.

"I'll pass. Unlike you, I don't want to grow extra limbs and other various body parts." Neil scoffed, causing Nikki to cock her head.

"What do you mean? Growing extra arms would be awesome! That way, I could climb up trees in like, half the time!"

"Have you seen the chemicals they dump into Lake Lilac, Nikki? It's disgusting."

Max rolled his eyes from where he stood on shore. He had taken his shoes and socks off so he could stand in the water, but hasn't bothered to roll his jeans up; the surface of the water dangerously close to the cuffs.

"If you weren't planning on swimming, why did you change?" Max questioned, gesturing to Neil's slightly too small swim trunks.

"B-because I changed my mind when I saw the water! It smells like shit down here!"

Nikki giggled, although she was actually quite sad about neither of her friends joining her in swimming. She looked up at Neil on the deck, a frown making her way to her face.

"Puppy dog eyes won't work on me. I'm not falling for it again." Neil glared back down at her, causing the the turquoise haired girl to huff.

Max watched the staring contest with a wrinkled nose, a sigh escaping his lips. An idea was already starting to form in his mind, one that neither benefited Max, or made someone he disliked go through something uncomfortable. When he came up with schemes that did none of those two things, he usually shot it down. Something was different about this though, and Max chalked it up to David's optimism finally beginning to affect him. When he looked at Nikki's melancholy face, he actually…_felt_ something It was new, and he didn't like it. Max closed his eyes, knowing the battle with himself was already lost. .._She's owes me a week's worth of pudding for doing this_. He stepped out of the water, neither of his friends noticing as Max slid off his sweater and threw it under a tree. Only Nikki saw what he was doing when he was positioned behind Neil, and a giggle escaped her pursed lips.

"What are you laughing about? I'm staying on this dock no matter what you do. I might even get a nice tan." Neil snickered at the thought, while Nikki continued to hold back her giggles.

"Y-you sure about that, Neil?" She grinned widely, causing the pale boy on the dock to frown.

"Absolut- AHH!" Neil let out a high-pitched girl like shriek as Max pushed him. The lanky boy tripped over his own legs and fell ungracefully into the water, barely missing Nikki. The splash from the fall doused Max's legs, but he didn't seem to notice, as he was fully occupied with trying to find his breath as he laughed. Neil resurfaced, spitting out dirty lake water, his curly brown hair deflated. He looked very unimpressed about the situation, but his gaze lightened when he saw Nikki and Max's grinning faces.

"You guys fucking suck." Neil snarled, a hint of playfulness in his voice. He splashed Nikki, and she inhaled some of the water, now coughing and laughing at the same time. To Max, this made this whole situation even more hilarious, and his cackling continued.

Nikki brushed her hair out of her eyes, looking at Neil and then to Max on the dock._ I've never heard him laugh this hard before. Well, other than that time with Bonquisha._ The short boy was holding his stomach as shudders racked his body, a large boyish grin on his face as he giggled.

This made Nikki felt weird. It felt like bugs were crawling in her stomach, almost like the pains from when she was having The Period, but...nicer. Way nicer. She felt her face warm up, even though the water around her was cool._ Am I dying?_

Suddenly, Max opened his teary eyes and met her stare, his laughing starting to die down into soft chuckles. They both didn't say anything, and it seemed to last hours even though it couldn't be more than a few seconds.

A piercing whistle suddenly sounded and the moment was broken. The kids winced and turned to the source, Max groaning at the sight of David walking onto the deck; Gwen not too far behind him.

"Now now, kiddos! Pushing is a big no no!" David frowned, wearing the Lifeguard whistle proudly, as well as red swimming trunks. Gwen was behind him, wearing her usual getup as she wasn't planning on jumping into the water and saving anybody.

"Yeah Max, look at what you did to Neil's jewfro." Gwen glanced at Neil's hair, that of which was deflated, before looking back at Max.

"Hey!-" Neil squeaked, before being interrupted by the disappointed David.

"You could've hurt Neil." David continued, causing Max to roll his eyes.

"But I didn't."

"But you could have!"

Gwen stepped up onto the deck, a devious smile suddenly on her lips. Her violet eyes fell to Max, and he instinctively stepped back. The boy frowned, "What're you-"

"Hey David?"

"Yes Co-counselor Gwen?" He grinned, looking at her.

"Don't you think Max should, oh I don't know… get punished for what he did?"

David's smile fell slightly, before returning in full force, "Why… yes we should! What he did was very dangerous!"

"It's not that big of a deal, David-" Neil started, glancing at Max. The raven haired boy was silently seething, glaring at his counselors.

"No dessert tonight should do it, don't you think?" David looked at Gwen.

"Actually… I have a better idea." She snickered, taking another step towards Max, before suddenly pushing the boy into the water. His grunt wasn't as funny as Neil's but it still brought a grin to Nikki's face.

"G-gwen!" David yelped, about to dive into the water to grab Max. Suddenly, the boy resurfaced, his face completely hidden by his wet black hair.

"GWEN, YOU ASSHOLE! I DON'T HAVE A BATHING SUIT ON!" Max snarled, facing the place where he thought Gwen was standing. The water wasn't deep enough for her to worry about him, so she snickered instead.

"Well now you know how Neil feels."

"I feel alot better after that, to be honest." Neil grinned, causing Max to brush his hair out of his eyes and splash him. He spluttered, trying to spit out the contaminated water.

Nikki giggled at the exchange, "Well, now that you're both in here… wanna play a game?"

Max opened his mouth to say his usual excuse, but closed it at the sight of Nikki now aiming her puppy dog eyes at him.

"Well… I'm already contaminated, so what the hell." Neil replied,glancing at Max for his response.

"...fine. But I'm not going to be happy about it."

"I wouldn't expect you to be, Max." Gwen snorts from the dock. He tried to splash her but he only got her boots.

Roughly an hour goes by of the campers playing in the lake and on the beach. Ered laid on the deck, listening to music on her earpods, her skin sunburned instead of tanned. Dolph made sandcastles on the beach, while Nurf stood a few feet back and waited till he was finished to stomp his work to pieces. Nerris, Harrison, and Preston continued to play Marco Polo in the water, while Spacekid watched them with stars in his eyes; he wasn't allowed to play, as he couldn't swim that well with his costume, but he had fun nonetheless.

Max, Nikki, and Neil climbed out of the water; the skin on their hands and feet wrinkled from over an hour of chasing and splashing each other. Max groaned at the feeling of the heavy wet fabric on his jeans and campshirt.

"Hey Max?" David asked, standing at the top of the beach, his eyes that were once overlooking the campers were now on him.

"What is it."

"Where's your hoodie? You didn't lose it in the water, did you?"

Max looked down at himself, his eyes widening slightly at the soaked bright yellow camp shirt he wore. "Oh, uh, no. I took it off." _I forgot about it, to be honest._ "It's under that tree over there."

"Well, you should put it on. It's going to get chilly tonight, and I'd hate for you to catch a cold."

"Yeah yeah, suck a dick David, I'll get it…" Max mumbled, moving to put his hands in his sweater pockets, only to find they weren't there. He sighed, and began to walk over to the tree, hands awkwardly crossed over his chest. Before he got there however, Nikki suddenly ran in front of him.

"It's okay, Max! I'll get it!" She grins, giving him a thumbs up, before running off. Max paused in confusion, before shrugging and walking back to Neil.

Nikki ran up to the tree, only to come to a stop with a soft gasp, "Platypus! Get off, that's Max's!" She tried to push the mascot off of Max's hoodie, where she currently was sleeping, but to no avail.

"C'mon, I'll, uh… give you some of my mashed potatoes that I get at dinner! But only if you get off of that hoodie."

The platypus' eyes opened, and with a soft mwak, it stood up and waddled off into the bushes._ A deal's a deal!_ Nikki grinned, only to grimace at the mysterious stains now covering Max's hoodie.

"Oh, uh… nothing that a little saliva can't fix!" She began to spit on the hoodie, rubbing the liquid into the stains, "Oh, that only made it worse!"

"Made what worse?" A voice spoke up from behind her, causing Nikki to squeak in alarm and turn to the source. Max stood in front of her, shivering slightly from the cold.

"Did you find it? I just threw it on the ground there, it's not rocket science."

"Uh, well…" She took the hoodie out from behind her back, "...David and Gwen can fix it, right?"

Max's eyes widened and his lips parted in shock. Suddenly, he snatched the hoodie from her hands, inspecting the stains.

"What the hell did you do to it?!"

"It wasn't me! It was the-"

"Did you spit on this?!" He gawked at her, wrinkling his nose.

"No, I….uh… maybe a little."

Max groaned, "Figures."

By the time Max finally got his hoodie back, it was dinnertime. He felt naked without it, and hadn't realized how much he relied on it till it was gone. _Where am I supposed to put my hands if I don't have pockets?_ Not to mention the awful yellow colour annoyed him to no end. Without his sweater overtop of the shirt, it made it seem like Max had given up his rebellious spirit.

Max ripped the hoodie from David's hands, inspecting it for stains.

"All cleaned up!" David grinned.

"It better be…" He mumbled, before finally sighing and nodding. It passed his inspection. Max grunted as he slid his hoodie back on, his head getting stuck in the head hole for a few seconds, before finally sliding on. _That's better._

"...I'm sorry about spitting on your sweater, Max. I was just trying to help..." Nikki said softly as David walked away, looking down at her food. Max turned towards her, ready to spit out a scathing remark, but the words died in his throat at her expression. She looked… sad. Really sad. Max immediately looked back to his food, pursing his lips angrily, before letting out a soft breath. _Let it go…_

"...it's fine."

Nikki's eyes immediately lit up and she turned to him, "Really? You aren't mad?"

"Of course I'm mad, like seriously, who does something like that?" Max stopped himself from continuing when he saw her flinch. "...but, you were trying to help, so I guess it evens out. Kinda. Not really."

She grins, "So what you're saying is you're still up for sasquatch hunting tonight?"

He snorts, rolling his eyes, "I'll think about it if you get me a cup of coffee."

"Deal!"


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a couple days since the hoodie accident, and Nikki was positive Max was trying to poison her. The fluttering feeling that showed its head on swim day had mostly disappeared; except for when she was near Max.

_Maybe he's pranking me in retaliation for spitting on his sweater, and using really slow poison to do it?_ She shook her head at the thought, knowing it was stupid. _It's probably just a coincidence, and just another stupid symptom to my period thing._

She had tried everything to stop the feeling; eating bright coloured plants she found in the forest, using a stick to try and cut it out of her, and twirling around in circles until she threw up. Nothing worked, and at this point, she had given up.

Nikki poked at the uncooked macaroni in front of her, the thought of eating it making her groan. Neil seemed to notice her unusual behavior, as he put down his glue bottle carefully and looked at her.

"What's up with you?" He asked, attention directed now to Nikki instead of whatever Arts and Crafts project David and Gwen were making them do.

Nikki shrugs with a sigh, leaning her cheek against her hand, "I feel all tingly and stuff… like that fever we had when we all got sick."

Neil immediately scooted down the bench away from her, "Nope! Not doing that again."

"I'm not _actually_ sick, or at least I don't think so. I'm pretty sure this is just another symptom of The Period."

Neil paused, before sighing and sliding back to where he sat before, "Oh, well, you should probably go ask Gwen about that stuff… it's clearly not my expertise and I doubt Max would want to help."

Max grunted in confirmation from where he sat at the table. He was across the picnic table from her, face down against the wood top as he caught up on his sleep. Seemed like he was still awake though. Nikki felt the familiar warm feeling spread out from her stomach, to her limbs, and finally her face as she gazed at him. _Maybe he's an alien infecting me with an outwardly disease! That could explain this weird feeling…_

Nikki nodded, agreeing with Neil and standing up, "I'll be back soon, leave some macaroni for me!"

She scanned the room for the less enthusiastic counselor. A frown fell to her face when she couldn't find her, and she decided to ask David where she was.

"David?" Nikki tugged at his shirt, and the redhead looked down at her with a friendly grin. "Where's Gwen?"

"Oh, why she must be on her break! Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I need to talk to her about The Period."

David's eyes widened, and his smile became slightly more taunt, "Oh. Alright, I'm sure she'd love to help you. Come on."

He gently touched her shoulder, before leading both of them to the Counselor cabin. He knocked on the door.

"Ugh, can't I get any fucking alone time here? Seriously-" Gwen's voice made its way out of the cabin, and became considerably louder when she opened the door. Although, she stopped at the sight of a bashful David and a smiling Nikki.

"...what is it, David?"

"Oh, well… Nikki here needs to ask you about her… lady sickness." He patted Nikki on the shoulder, and in return she tried to bite him.

Gwen fell silent, and a few moments later she let out a soft sigh, "Alright. Come inside, Nikki."

Nikki grinned and walked into the cabin.

"Thank you Gwen." David smiled, before walking quickly back to the mess hall. She closed the door, before turning back to the room where she was previously relaxing. Nikki made herself comfortable in one of the chairs in front of the tv. It was currently on some old romance channel. _Gross_.

Gwen turned it off with a sigh, and sat down across from the young girl, "So. What's wrong?"

"...When you're on The period, is it normal for bugs to crawl inside you and live in your stomach?"

Gwen blinked, "...wha-"

"Or, when you're not even running around or nothing, you get all red and sweaty?" Nikki looked at her, curious.

_What. The. Fuck_. Gwen frowned, "Nikki, first of all, there's no _The_ in front of period. It's just called a period, or my period. Secondly, what the fuck do you even mean by bugs crawling inside you?"

"Well, I have a fluttery feeling in my stomach and I figured the bugs I ate earlier survived my ravenous chewing or something."

"Is this 'fluttering' feeling like, Satan himself tap dancing on your stomach with ballerina shoes made out of nails?"

Nikki shook her head, "No, it's more like when you're at the top of a big roller coaster? And you're excited but also kinda nervous? Like that!"

"So it's a good feeling."

"Yeah."

"If it's not painful, chances are it's not because of your period," Gwen leaned back in her chair, thinking, "The sensation you're describing sounds like the whole 'getting butterflies in your stomach' phrase."

"So there are bugs in my stomach?!" Nikki grins widely, happy now knowing Max wasn't behind this.

"No, it's a feeling you get when you're anticipating something big; scary or not," Gwen frowned, thinking back to earlier in their conversation, "You said something about feeling sweaty?"

"Oh, yeah! When I get that butterfly thing, I get all red and sweaty too. Like it's a super hot day."

Gwen paused. _Butterflies, blushing, sweating… wait a second._

"...Nikki, do you… _like like_ someone at camp?" _It's either this or the stomach flu._

The young girl looked up at Gwen with a surprised look on her face, "A crush? I don't know… is that what this feeling is?"

"It's possible."

"Well, now that you mention it, that butterfly feeling only acts up when a specific camper is around; At first I thought they were poisoning me or something." Nikki smiled softly, swinging her legs off her chair._ I mean, being poisoned would be way cooler, but I guess this is fine. At least I now know my friend isn't trying to hurt me._

"How do you feel when you're around them?" Gwen asks, inwardly crying from glee. _This is way better than any trash romance shows on tv!_

"When I'm around them, it's like I'm rolling around in mud. I feel all warm, and gooey," She smiles softly, "Oh! And I also _really_ wanna bite their face off, but like, in a nice way."

Gwen snorts, "Yeah kid, you got it bad." She pauses, failing to hide her large smile, "Sooooo… you gonna tell me who it is?"

"Oh, right! It's Max."

"...you've got to be fucking shitting me." Gwen's mouth fell open, while Nikki looked away with a flushed face.

"Nope."

"B-but, he's an asshole!"

"I'll have you know that he's actually very nice! He's cares about everyone at the camp, even David. He's just too stubborn to admit it."

_Doubtful, but okay_. However, as Gwen thought about it more and more, she realized how cute Max and Nikki would be together.

"Well, it's not the _worst_ ship in the camp."

Nikki grinned, "So do you think he likes me back?"

Gwen grimaced, "Nikk, Max isn't exactly the guy to-"

The cabin door opened softly, and David poked his head in, "Sorry to interrupt your lady talk, but dinner is ready!"

Nikki grinned and jumped out of her chair, "Thank god, I'm starving. Bye Gwen!" The turquoise haired girl skipped out of the cabin.

"What the by golly was that about?" David asked with a frown, walking over and inspecting Gwen's happy face.

"Nikki has a crush."

Her Co-counselor gasped, "A crush! That's adorable! Although, we will have to think about giving them the talk sooner or later if they're beginning to get these feelings."

"Pff, it's fine. All the kids already saw Nikki's mom and Neil's dad banging anyway. That along with the internet has probably taught them more than anything we could."

David's face flushed and he awkwardly scratched at the back of his head, "Right, I forgot about that…"

Gwen let out a sigh, before flopping back into her chair, "Why do I have a feeling this is gonna end up being a crazy week long adventure?"

"We just have to monitor the kiddos closely for the next couple days, make sure there's no funny business going on."

"When has that ever worked, David?"

"...never?"

"Never." Gwen repeated, sighing.

By the time Nikki showed up at the table again, all of the craft supplies were gone; being replaced with trays of food. She had already gotten her tray from the Quartermaster, and used her hands to spoon out a portion of her potatos to the platypus. _Your payment, good sir!_ Max seemed to be fully awake now, sitting up and talking with Neil; two plates of food in front of the pair. The young girl grinned as she sat down, both of the boy's eyes falling to her.

"Where the hell did you go?" Max asked with a snort, poking at his food.

"Talked to Gwen."

"Why?"

"You were there, Max. Nikki wasn't feeling well and wanted Gwen's opinion on the matter," Neil turned to Nikki, "Did you find out what was wrong? You don't have stomach cancer, do you?"

"Nah, turns out I got a crush." She used her hands to tear apart her meatloaf, not even noticing the boy's surprised stares.

"You have a _what_?" Max raised his eyebrows.

"A crush? It's like, when you like like someone."

"Ugh, I know what it means! It's just… _you_ having a crush is just so…" He turned towards Neil for help.

"Fucked up." Neil finished for him, "Who is it?"

Nikki's gaze immediately fell back to Max, and she began to feel her cheeks heat up once more; the butterflies fluttering away. _I can't tell them, Max would hate me!_

"I, uh… Can't tell you! It's a secret."

They both glared at her, Neil letting out a scoff and Max rolling his eyes, "You do realize were gonna figure it out eventually, right?"

"I-I'd like to see you try!"

"Oh, and try we will!" Max said with a smirk

The next few days went by in a flash. It involved boring camp activities, the boys pestering Nikki about her crush, and Nikki's growing feelings for Max. She liked to think she was playing it cool, y'know, only starring when he wasn't looking. To be honest, it was quite obvious; the young girl was lucky nobody gave a shit.

Gwen watched Nikki and Max with a sigh. She would be helping them if she could, but she promised David she wouldn't interfere with the camper's love life's after the Lake Lilac social. _But look how desperately they need me! If I just sent one little note to Max, this whole thing could be fixed!_

It was the end of the day now, and all of the campers have split up to do their own things for a few hours.

"You got any ideas on how to figure this shit out?" Max asked Neil, laying down on his cot in their tent. Neil was at the blackboard they stuffed into the corner, looking over his frantic writings.

"Well, why don't we just go ask Gwen?"

Max paused, sitting up, "And just bypass Nikki all together?" A small smirk grew on his lips, "Perfect. It shouldn't be hard to get information out of Gwen, she sucks at handling this type of stuff."

"How do you know that?"

"Literally all of the Lilac social."

"G-good point." Neil blushed. The two boys pushed the flaps to their tent open and walked over to the mess hall.

David and Gwen were cleaning up after Dinner before heading out to do the last activity of the night; the campfire.

"Hey, losers!" Max exclaimed as they walked in, a malicious grin on his face. Gwen sighed, while David twirled around on the balls of his feet; a bright grin on his face.

"What are you two doing here?" David asked.

"We need to ask Gwen some shit."

"Let me guess, it's about Nikki."

The boys nod, causing Gwen to groan, "Ugh, fine. David, why don't you go get started on the fire? I'll finish up here."

"Aw, thank you CBFL!" He grinned, before heading outside. The less than enthusiastic counselor turned to the boys, a frown on her face.

"What do you wanna know?"

"Who's Nikki's crush?" Neil asked, puffing his chest out to look tougher.

"...are you serious? You can't tell? She's not exactly secretive about it."

"What are you talking about?" Max frowned, suddenly feeling uncertain

"Jesus fucking Christ, sometimes I forget how young you kids are," She sighs, rolling her eyes, "Okay, look. The person Nikki has a crush on is an asshole. They act they're the coolest camper here, but in reality they're a baby."

The boys looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

She groans at how naive they were, before continuing, "Her crush has taken over the camp before."

Neil fell silent, before hit face lit up with familiarity, "Oh! It's Ered," Neil grinned, before turning to Max, "You owe me 5 bucks."

Max rolled his eyes with a grumble, pulling out the wrinkled bill from his pocket and putting it in Neil's hands. _How could Nikki like Ered? She's the fucking worst!_ He felt like there was a weight suddenly placed on his chest, the feeling causing him to grit his teeth in anger.

Gwen frowned, confused, "No, that's not-"

"Thanks Gwen." Neil smiled, grabbing Max and pulling him out of the mess hall. She moved as if to follow them, before sighing and going back to cleaning. _Not my problem._

Once they were out of the mess hall, Max pulled away from Neil, "Fucking Ered, she's a bitch! All she is going to do is hurt Nikki."

"Why do you care, Max?"

Max stopped walking. _Wait… why do I care? It's not my problem if Nikki gets her heart broken by that asshole_. In reality, Max did know; he wished he didn't, but he did_. I don't… like like Nikki, do I? No, that's stupid! I just don't want my friend to be hur_t. Max knew it was more than that.

"Max, you okay? You kinda stopped walking." Neil frowned, waving his hand in front of his friend's face. Max blinked his eyes to clear his head, shaking it as well for good measure. He frowned, pushing Neil away.

"Ugh, I'm fine, just thinking."

Neil nodded, "Well, can you think _and_ walk?"

Max sighed but began to walk once again, "I just… don't understand what Nikki sees in Ered."

"She's the coolest kid in camp, who can blame her?"

"She's not even that great!" He huffed, stuffing his hands deeper into his sweater pockets, pouting.

Neil raised his eyebrows, confused. _What the fuck is wrong with him? Max never cares about stuff like this. Why is he…_ A lightbulb went off in the nerd's head, his eyes widening.

"_Holy shit,_ you're jealous!"

Max jumped at his exclamation, "What! No I'm not-"

"Cut the bullshit, you so are!"

Max gritted his teeth, seething, "I. Am. Not. JEALOUS!" He took a deep breath, still tense. "And I'll prove it."


	3. Chapter 3

"Alright Campers, today is Theatre camp," David grins, standing on the stage alongside Gwen, "We'll warm up by playing charades in groups of four!" It was the next day, the campers were somehow surviving the last activity of the day

"Four? Ugh, that means we gotta get Spacekid or something." Nikki groans.

"Did someone call my name?" The fishbowl wearing child grinned, as if appearing out of nowhere.

"Unfortunately."

Spacekid shrugged it off, but a frown came to his face as he looked at their group, "Hm… I'm not the best at counting but… aren't we missing a person?"

"No, we got four, see? Nikki, you, me, Max-" Neil paused when he couldn't see the raven hair boy in their group, "I swear he was just here-"

"There he is." Nikki pouted, pointing across the field. Max was in a group with Harrison, Dolph, and Preston.

"Oh, what the fresh hell!" Neil gritted his teeth, clenching his fists, "What is he doing? Max always groups with us!"

Nikki sniffled, "He's probably making new friends." _And I thought we were getting along so well recently…_

"So Max isn't in our group?" Spacekid asked.

"I guess not." Neil huffed.

Max didn't seem to notice his distraught friends, as all of his attention was on his rag team group. Harrison was currently trying to act out _To Kill a Mockingbird_, and he clearly wasn't succeeding.

"Wow, you are terrible at this." Preston wrinkled his nose. Max rolled his eyes, walking over to the rest of his group.

"Preston is surprisingly right for once."

Harrison stops with a sigh, "Man, I just wish it could be magic camp again."

"Yeah, or Art camp."

"I wish the counselors would actually try to make my camp fun, they're just playing party games!" Preston groaned, stomping his feet dramatically.

"...What would you guys say if I told you I can get you a fun camp activity that would suit all your needs?" Max inquired.

"We would be interested." Harrison crossed his arms over his chest.

"Here's the plan." Max grinned as everyone scooted closer.

Neil and Nikki watched this from afar with disgust, "What are they doing?"

"I don't know, but we better get a fourth member before Gwen and David chew us out."

Nikki nods, looking over the field, "Hm… oh! It looks like Ered doesn't have a group!"

Neil almost broke his neck by how fast he turned to face her, "Ered?! W-why would you wanna group with her?"

"She's cool, and she doesn't have a group," Nikki grinned, oblivious to the Neil's more than usual sweaty face. "HEY ERED!"

Ered casually turned to face them, before shrugging and walking over, "Hey."

"Wanna be a part of our group?"

"Whatever."

"So cool…" Spacekid grinned, and Nikki nodded in agreement.

Neil swallowed. _I hope Max doesn't see. The last thing we need is him running over and making a big deal out of nothing._

Max had just finished telling the others the plan, a smirk on his face as he took a step away from them, "So, what do you think? Are you in or are you out?"

Preston wiped away a tear, "That is so romantic."

"Ah, young love," Dolph sighed happily, "I would happily make decorations for this joyful confession!"

Harrison shrugged, "Eh, I guess I'll help. Not like I got any Magic camp stuff to do."

Max felt the tension he hadn't even noticed in his shoulder dissipate, "Great. We'll get started tomorrow."

The boys grinned, before turning to eachother and excitedly chatting about their plans for the event. Max nodded to himself, his eyes falling from his group back to Neil and Nikki. That burning aching feeling that had engulfed his chest yesterday was suddenly back; Max felt his eye twitch at the sight of Nikki and Ered happily playing charades together. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to look away. _I'm not jealous!_

* * *

Neil hesitantly sat down beside Nikki, breakfast tray in hand. The young girl was currently shoving oatmeal into her mouth, and the sound caused Neil to squirm in disgust. A day had passed since Max had ditched them at Theatre camp, and ever since then the short boy had been hanging out with his new friends, quietly planning...something.

"Uh, hey Nikki?"

"Yeah, Neil?" She looked up at him, mouth full.

"Where's Max? He's not at our table."

She swallowed, before pointing across the mess hall, "He's been talking to Ered all breakfast! I don't know what about though."

"Ered?" Neil paused as he remembered _that_ night, how Max looked so furious about something so trivial. How he had stomped off to bed without going to the campfire, sitting on his cot while writing something on his phone; a devious smile on his face._ I had never seen Max that angry before_. "Oh god."

The nerd quickly stood up, and walked over to the table Nikki had pointed to. Max's hands were gripping his coffee mug tightly, causing his tanned knuckles to go bleach white.

"Uh, heeeey Max. Whatcha doing buddy?" Neil grinned nervously, sitting down beside him. Ered sat across from the pair, eating her pancakes nonchalantly.

"Oh, nothing. Just talking with Ered about how _sick_ her kickflips are." Max spat out the sentence, his words dripping with poison.

Ered didn't seem to notice, or didn't care; just shrugging, "Yeah."

"Oh, uh, cool?" _Really, that's it?_ Neil was confused. "Um… anything else?"

Max's eyes flicked up to Nikki, who was eating her breakfast with her hands, before going back to Ered. The motion was fast, almost unnoticeable, but Neil caught it.

"He was talking about Nikki or something."

"I'm glad you noticed," Max glared at her, "Look, do you want to help or not?"

She shrugs, "Whatever."

This was clearly what Max wanted to hear, and he quickly stood up, "Good. I'll talk to you after breakfast." He began to walk back to their table, and Neil followed; almost tripping as he pulled himself away from the bench.

"It's Saturday though, I thought we were gonna hang out."

"Yeah, well, plans change Neil," Max frowned, glancing up at the taller boy. They sat down across from Nikki, where she had paused eating and looked up at them.

"What was that about."

"Nothing." Max and Neil said at the same time; Max's tone angry while Neil's was panicked.

Nikki squinted at them, before shrugging and finishing up her oatmeal. Neil played with his food, not hungry while Max took sips of his black coffee. The table was uncharacteristically quiet. Neil searched his mind for something to say, but nothing came.

The Mess Hall's doors suddenly opened, causing Neil to jump. David and Gwen walked in, a grin on his face while she was clearly sleep deprived.

"Goooood morning Campers!

"Good morning." Spacekid waved innocently.

"As you all know, today is Saturday! Gwen and I have nothing planned, so you're all free to go have fun!" He boucned on his heels. "Although, I do wish to remind you to be safe, stay in groups of three, and-"

"The kids are gone." Gwen frowned.

The mess hall was empty, except for Max, Neil, and Nikki.

"Gosh, I wish we had Good Manners camp!" David huffed, pouting. His gaze lightened however at the sight of the trio still sitting at their tables.

"Max, aren't you coming?" Nikki frowned, standing up from the table; Neil following her lead.

"Nah, I gotta talk to the losers about something," He gestured to the counselors, "I'll come find you after."

"O-Oh… ok! Neil and I will be by the mud pit in front of our tent." She smiled softly, albeit sad, before walking outside; Neil glared at Max before following her.

"Why aren't you hanging out with your friends?" David asked, walking over with Gwen on his tail.

Max shrugged before standing up, hands buried deep in his pockets; gaze glued to the floor.

"I need a favor from you, David." He grumbled, clearly unhappy.

"A favor? What is it?"

Max let out a sigh, before slowly looking up at the two adults, "Well, you know Nikki has a crush on Ered, right?"

Gwen blinked, opening her mouth to correct him, but was interrupted by David's excited gasp.

"Gwen told me Nikki had a crush, but she didn't say it was Ered! Gosh, ain't that sweet!"

"Yeah, well, because she's my friend-" _And I need to prove to Neil and more importantly, myself, I'm not jealous over a stupid crush._ "-I want to help Nikki confess to her."

"Oh, Max," David grinned happily, "That's so kind of you. Did Nikki ask you for help?"

"Uh, yeah, she did." Max lied.

"Then I'll gladly help you! What do you need?"

"I need to use the Mess hall for a couple hours. We'll be done with it before lunch."

"The Mess hall? Well… I suppose you can use it for a bit. You want a quiet place for Ered and Nikki to talk, right?"

"Yeah."

"It's a deal then!" David grinned, "Let me clean up these left over breakfast trays, than I'll be out of your hair!"

The redhead walked off to collect the camper's dishes, a skip in his step. Gwen and Max watched him, the older women sighing.

"What's really going on, Max?"

Max looked up at her, frowning, "I'm not lying, I just want to help out my... friend."

Gwen raised an eyebrow at him, causing the ten year old to grimace, "You don't actually have the cleanest track record."

"Ugh, fine. Look, I really am just trying to help out Nikki. She didn't ask me for help, but who cares! She will eventually spit it out, she sucks at secrets. I'm just a catalyst."

"Wait. She doesn't know you're doing this?"

Max shook his head, "And I don't want her to know yet either. I've got big plans. Dolph is making decorations, Preston is gonna sing, Harrison is gonna take photos or something. Nikki and Ered are gonna love it."

Gwen's words died on her tongue as she stared down at the young boy. _David said I can't intervene…_ She reminded herself.

"Wow Max. That… Actually sounds nice."

"Yeah, I'm a pretty great friend." He shrugged.

"You're decent at best."

"Shut up."

* * *

"Do you think Max hates us?" Nikki asked, the feeling of mud drying on her hands couldn't even lift her spirits.

"No, of course not. He's just… having a mood." Neil sat in the grass beside her, careful not to touch any of the mud.

"Oh, like a boy period?"

"Uh, sure."

Nikki sighs, "He should stick a tampon in it, and get over himself."

Neil snorted, but stayed silent. It was surprisingly comfortable, just the two of them, quietly sitting in the grass basking in the summer sun.

"Hey."

Max's voice caused the pair to jump and turn to face their friend. Neil frowned, while Nikki grinned.

"Hiya Max!" Nikki smiled, "What were you up to?"

He shrugged and sat down beside her, "Just getting everything set up in the Mess hall."

"For what?" Neil inquired

"Is it a prank?" Nikki asked excitedly.

_Well, Dolph is almost finished setting up and Preston is kinda on key. This is probably the best chance to tell her._ "No, it's about your crush." He turned to look at her, causing the girl to blush.

"...you figured it out?" She asked, her eyes wide. _Oh no, no wonder he's been avoiding us! He hates me! What am I going to do?!_

"Yeah, but it's fine. It's not like I care." He shrugs, "You didn't want to tell us because you weren't sure when you were gonna confess, right?"

"R-right." She was surprised how well he was taking this.

"You're gonna confess to them right before lunch, it's gonna be romantic and shit. Dolph glued hearts to literally every surface in the Mess ball, and I gave Harrison my phone so he can take _magical_ photos. His words, not mine. I've been planning this shit for two days."

Neil's mouth had fallen open in shock. _That's his plan?! Thats what he meant when he said he was gonna prove he wasn't jealous? Seriously?!_

"You did all that for me?" Nikki asked, eyes wide.

Max looked away from her gaze, suddenly feeling uncertain, "Yeah, well, everyone in the camp already knows.. This is… just to make it more official."

Nikki turned so she fully faced him. Her round face was streaked with mud, and her hair was frizzy. She was an absolute mess.

_So why do I think she's so beau-_ Max suddenly went tensed, and he stopped himself from finishing that thought. _Nope nope nope._

"Thank you Max."

"Uh huh, yeah, no problem. I've got to go talk to Ered." He quickly stood up, lips pursed, "Bye." Max buried his hands into his hoodie pocket, and stormed off.

Nikki grinned to herself, her heart racing. _He knows, and he doesn't hate me_!

Neil huffed, frowning. _What a dick. He's doing all of this for himself_.

"I, uh, gotta go talk to Gwen." She suddenly stands up, brushing the ants off her overalls.

"Seriously, you're leaving me too?"

"I thought you liked being alone."

"...fair point."

* * *

Gwen opened the door to a grinning, blushing Nikki.

"He doesn't hate me!"

The counselor blinked, "What?"

"Max! He doesn't hate me!"

Gwen sighs, "Ok, cool. Is that all?"

"No, I got so much more to tell you!" Nikki skipped into the room, causing the women to groan and close the door behind the young girl.

"Fine, come into my cabin uninvited. Great."

Nikki took a seat in front of the TV like before, swinging her legs joyfully. Gwen grumbled to herself, walking over before slumping down across from her.

"Okay, start from the top. Go."

Nikki took in a deep breath, before spewing out information at the poor counselor; who was _definitely_ not paid to deal with this. By the time the girl was done, Gwen was almost as confused as she was.

"Wait, so Max has set up this whole confession shit in the Mess hall so you can tell _him_ your feelings?"

"Yeah! I think it's because he feels bad about finding out on his own, and not by me telling him? So he wants to make it official!"

Gwen blinked, and leaned back in her chair. _Wait, so… Nikki thinks this confession is between Max and her. While Max has set it up so Nikki can confess to Ered. What the fuck._

"...Wow."

"I know!" Nikki grinned, boucning in her seat.

"So, what are you gonna do?"

"Welll, I was just gonna go to the mess hall when it's ready and tell Max how I feel. I'm not sure exactly what happens after that but… hopefully something good! Like holding hands!"

Gwen's violet eyes widened as an idea suddenly popped into her head. _David said not to intervene! _She reminded herself_. ...David doesn't have to know_. A smirk fell upon her lips.

"I can get you something better than holding hands."

"Tell me." Nikki leaning towards Gwen, on the edge of her seat.

"Max already knows how you feel, right?"

"Right."

"So instead of just confessing, why don't you… kiss him?"

Nikki jumped at the idea, her face a dark red, "Kiss?"

Gwen smirked with a nod, "Kiss."

"Would he… like that?"

"He would absolutely love it."

Nikki bit her lip, but a grin was beginning to grow on her face; alongside her blush, "I…Think I'd like that too! Just a small one."

"Yeah, just a small one." Gwen smiles. _This is going to be an absolutely fucking nightmare, and I can't wait to see it._

* * *

By the time Eleven AM had come, the mess hall was ready. Word had spread something was going to go down, so many of the campers waited outside its doors. They had nothing better to do, and decided to wait around and see what's up.

Inside, Dolph had finished putting up the last heart banner. The room was filled with pink and red hearts of all sizes; pasted to the walls, hanging from the ceiling, or placed carefully on the floor as to make a pathway to where Ered would be standing. Preston as well was almost complete. He stood on one of the tables they had pushed to the side, and was wearing a sparkling red and white suit. It looked cheap, and it was clearly thrown together with whatever costumes Theatre camp had.

"This…Actually looks pretty good guys," Max looked around.

"I agree. It looks marvelous!" Harrison nodded, "Just like the pictures I'm going to take of Nikki. They're going to capture their confession beautifully! It's going to be… _magical_! Ta da!"

Max rolled his eyes, "Uh huh, yeah, sure." He turned to Preston. "What are you gonna be singing anyway?"

"It's an expert from one of the ballads in my new musical-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there. Just sing Coldplay or something." Max waved Preston off, before groaning at the sound of someone knocking on the door. He walked over, and opened the door a crack.

"What?"

"Hey Max," David smiled, happily talking into the crack, "Lunch is soon, but I see you're not quite finished here… would it be alright if the rest of the campers could wait inside?"

"...Whatever. Just stand in the back and be quiet." Max sighed, opening the door the rest of the way. The campers mumbled about the decorations, moving slowly to lean against the back wall. Ered fell out of the group, and walked over to Max.

"Hey."

Max rolled his eyes and pointed to the spot at the end of the heart path, "Stand there."

She looked up to where he pointed, before shrugging and walking over nonchalantly.

"Harrison, can you go tell Nikki were ready?" Max asked the magician, who in turn nodded and walked out.

Neil shouldered himself out of the crowd, so he stood beside Max, "So this is your plan, huh? To prove you're not jealous?"

Max scoffed, "Duh. I'm helping Nikki confess her undying love to Ered, or whatever."

"Dude, just admit it. You like Nikki."

Max snorted, "Me? Like Nikki? Jeez, and I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."

Neil opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by the Mess Hall's doors opening. There stood Nikki, her eyes wide and her cheeks blushed.

Nikki didn't even notice all of the camper's eyes on her, nor did she see the decorations or hear Preston's terrible song. All of her attention was on Max, who stood a few feet beside Ered. Beside him was Neil, who he was talking quietly to. Before she had opened the door, she was 99 percent positive she wasn't going to kiss Max; but now that she saw that smirk on his face, his cyan eyes on her. She wasn't sure.

The young girl took a deep breath, and began to walk towards him.


	4. Chapter 4

Nikki was halfway across the room by the time Max realized something wasn't right. _Wait, why isn't she going down the path?_

It was true, Nikki seemed to ignore the path all together, along with the decorations. Her gaze was set on him and only him. _Doesn't she see all the shit I did for her, why is she storming over here?_ Max smirk slowly fell off his face, being replaced with a confused frown. _Maybe she didn't want to confess after all? What the fuck is she doing?_

_What the hell am I doing?!_ Nikki thought, her cheeks reddening somehow even more than before. She continued her walk across the room; the sounds of her sneakers too loud compared to its silent atmosphere. Well, silent other than Preston's terrible singing. Even the campers tucked away in the corner were silent, muttering to eachother in confusion.

Gwen watched from the kitchen, an evil smirk on her face as David stood beside her. He didn't seem to notice anything was wrong however, and was on the verge of joyful tears.

**Six feet away**

_Wait, how do I kiss again? I wish biting was a romantic gesture, I'm awesome at that!_ Nikki continued to walk.

**Five feet away**.

Max furrowed his brows, unsure why his sweater suddenly felt too hot. He wanted to talk, to berate her, but he couldn't; his voice failing him.

**Four feet away.**

Neil looked up from the odd scene, only to see Gwen's smug smirk as she stood in the kitchen doorframe; her violet eyes on the pair. _Why is she...Wait a second._

**Three feet away.**

Neil thought back to when they had asked Gwen about Nikki's crush in the first place. _What did she say again?_

**Two feet away.**

Suddenly, he remembered.

_"__The person Nikki has a crush on is an asshole. They act they're the coolest camper here, but in reality they're a baby… her crush has taken over the camp before."_

Neil felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead as he came to the realization. _Holy. Fucking. Shit._

**One foot away.**

Max was close enough to smell Nikki's usual fragrance of mud and lake water. The familiar scent calmed his beating heart slightly, which helped the boy finally open his mouth to speak.

"Um, Nikki?"

The young girl looked like she had just ran a hundred miles; red, sweaty, swaying on her feet. She gave him a sheepish grin, "Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"I… uh, don't know." She says honestly, taking a few steps closer. Max could feel the heat radiating off of her, which only worsened how hot he felt in his sweater.

He sighed, albeit with less frustration as usual, "Goddammit Nikki. Look, just go back to the door and we'll try this aga-"

Nikki, as always, acted on impulse. She leaned in even closer than before, her button nose almost touching his straight and pointed one. Max blinked, his eyes widening. She stared at him through unblinking eyes, as if she was a cat settling in on its pray. It would've been creepy if it wasn't Nikki, not to mention the uncomfortably close position they were in. Max tried to remember what he was talking about, but in that moment, he had completely forgot.

_What is she doing?_ He repeated once again mentally, feeling slightly dizzy.

Nikki let out a soft puff of air from her lips, much to Max's confusion, before finally gaining the courage to close the distance between the two.

Nikki was surprised how soft Max's lips were, considering how much poison he spat at people. Of course, she meant that metaphorically, but the thought of Max spitting purple acidic slime on David almost made her laugh. Almost.

Max's hands slid out of his hoodie pockets and hovered level to his shoulders, as if he was going to push her off. In the end, he didn't do anything like that, and his arms slowly fell back down into their normal position; albeit more shakily than before. His mind was racing, trying to figure out what to do. _Should I pull away? Push her off and curse her out?! Maybe kiss her harder, slip in tongue like I saw in one of those super old action movies? God, why does she taste like dirt, and why do I like it?! What the fuck is happening, I'm KISSING NIKKI!_

Their noses were mushed against eachother, Max's bended to the side against Nikki's button nose. It was obvious Nikki had no idea what to do, and Max clearly wasn't offering support; just lifelessly standing still, his breath stuck in his chest as he mentally died.

The kiss, which would be more accuratly called a _peck on the lips_, couldn't have lasted more than five seconds. To the pair however, it seemed to last forever.

Nikki finally pulled away, taking a few steps back; wiping her lips on her arm. Max stumbled forward but caught himself; he hadn't realised how much he was leaning on her. His eyes fluttered open, and his gaze lifted from the floor to Nikki's face; his lips pursed tightly. Her face was surprisingly lacking its usual pink hue, as if finally gaining to courage to kiss him had calmed her down.

Nikki took another step back, nervous, before opening her mouth to speak, her voice coming out in a whisper, "I, uh-"

Suddenly, as if someone had unmuted the room, claps and whistle began to erupt from the room.

"Look at you two lovebirds!"

"Get a room!"

"THAT WAS DISGUSTING!" Nerf grinned teasingly, "I'm so proud of you too, I knew you could do it."

Gwen's howls and yelps were the loudest, an evil smirk on her face. David looked… proud? He was crying, his grin stretching from cheek to cheek.

Neil rubbed his face with his hands, groaning, his face red as well. _Guess I'm the third wheel now. Ugh._

Nikki flushed once more, jumping at the sudden sounds around them; as if she had forgotten they weren't alone. As for Max, he was beginning to feel an unfamiliar tingling feeling make its way up his neck and to his cheeks. For the first time as long the ten year old can remember, he was blushing.

Dolph and Harrison walked over from where they stood, Preston jumping gracefully down from the table and following them as well.

"Ah, I thought we were celebrating the confession of Ered and Nikki?" Dolph asked Max.

"Can't you see what he did? He wanted to keep it a secret from us that this was all for him and his true love. I knew you were a romantic, Max!" Preston grinned, his voice booming.

"But they didn't confess their love, Nikki just kissed him." Dolph rebutted, frowning. The word 'kiss' caused Nikki's eyes to widen, as if she was just realizing what she did.

"You bafoon! Isn't it obvious? This wasn't meant to be a confession, Max's intent for this event was to announce his and Nikki's secret relationship! And announce you did!" Preston sighed happily.

Harrison budged in, shrugging, "Confession or not, I still took some _magical_ photos." Max's phone suddenly levitated out of the magician's hands and in front of teal haired girl and dazed boy. On the screen was a sickingly cute photo of the peck on the lips; Nikki's eyes closed while Max's were wide open.

"Aw, true love!" Dolph stood on his tippy toes to see the picture.

"I ship you two, like, so hard!" Preston giggled, looking at the photo as well.

The word _ship_ was evidently the word that broke Max out of his dazed silence. His eye twitched, and he began to grit his teeth; his gaze never leaving the photo.

"M-max, are you ok?" Nikki asked softly, looking at her seething friend. By now, she could tell something wasn't right. _Why did I take love advice from Gwen?!_

"..._where. is. Gwen_." He hissed out between his teeth, the blush from before becoming even more prominent now; although it was difficult to tell if rage or embrassesment caused it. Probably a mix of both.

"She's over there, in the kitchen with David." Dolph said, pointing to where Gwen stood. The smirk on her face slowly fell as Max turned to face her.

Max wasn't stupid. Far from it actually, he was actually quite smart for a kid his age; perhaps even smarter than Neil. After his mind had cleared and he thought about it for a couple seconds, Gwen's scheme suddenly became clear. It was quite basic to be honest, and Max mentally swore at himself for being such an idiot; as it was something he'd probably pull himself. For a few seconds there, Gwen had definitely gotten the better of him, he'd admit that, but no longer.

Gwen could see that in Max's cyan eyes, along with a burning rage she had never seen from the kid before. She gave him a sheepish grin from across the room.

"Max, are you okay-" Nikki tried to ask, reaching to put her hand on his shoulder. Max pulled away with a grunt, before quickly walking over to where David and Gwen; anger evidence in his body language.

"Oh, Max! That was adorable! I'm so proud of yo-"

"_Gwen, I am going to kill you."_ The ten year old boy interupted the red head, glaring up at Gwen; his gaze killer.

"W-what are you talking about?" Gwen grimaced.

"Max, what's wrong? Why aren't you happy?" David frowned.

"Why don't you ask your CBFL!?" He points at Gwen.

David eyes, along with most of the campers in the mess hall, turned to Gwen. She felt a bead of sweat drip down her spine under her shirt, causing her to shiver.

"...David, don't get mad.." She started.

He sighed. _That's never a good sign._

"I… may of influenced the events that took place here today."

"What? How?" Nikki frowned, walking over to stand next to Max. The boy felt his cheeks warm up just by standing beside her.

Gwen sighed, pursing her lips, "...It all started when Nikki asked me for advice."

* * *

"Gwen, what did I say about interfering with the Camper's love lives!" David said, disappointment evident on his face. Gwen had just finished telling them her side of the story, and David was rightfully disappointed in his co counselor.

"...don't do it?"

David nods, "I understand that being stuck in the woods with twenty kids can be difficult for some, but you're only making it more difficult for yourself by doing things like this."

"I know," She sighs.

"I want you to apologize to Max and Nikki."

Gwen paused, her brows furrowing in frustration, before sighing; they're was no point in fighting David. She was in the wrong. The counselor sheepishly turned around, facing the campers. She expected to see Max and Nikki staring up at her in anger; what she didn't expect was to not see them at all.

"Wait, where did they go?"

"They left, like, five minutes ago." Ered said, popping her hip out with a frown.

"Jesus Christ, we are terrible counselors." Gwen sighed.

"Speaking of terrible counselors, where the fuck is lunch?" Nerf crossed his arms over his chest, causing David to sigh; not bothering with correcting his language. _I'll let Max and Nikki have a minute alone, I've got to get these kiddos fed!_

* * *

Max leaned back against the tree trunk, his gaze directed to the canopy of branches above him. He let out a shaky sigh, hating how the stupid tingling feeling in his stomach and face refused to leave. He felt his cheek, grimacing at the warmth emitting from his skin; he was still fucking _blushing_.

"_I'm such a pussy."_ He mumbled to himself, letting his hand fall back to his side; slidding down the trump till he sat among roots. _I'm also a fucking idiot for believing Gwen, and for getting so caught up in my own stupid emotions to pull something like this._ As Max looked back at it, he cringed at how dumb everything was; his stupid plan to assure Neil, and himself, he wasn't jealous.

_We'll, I've got nothing to be jealous of now. Ered isn't even in the picture_. Max couldn't stop the small smile tugging at the edges of his lips, as he reminded himself who Nikki _really_ had a crush on. Almost as soon as the feeling came however, he pushed it back down.

_Don't get your fucking hopes up, douchebag_. He reminded himself, anger flaring in his chest. _Nikki would never like you like that. Gwen has her confused, that's all._

"I mean, what would a girl like her even see in an asshole like me…" He grumbled to himself, not even aware he had spoken outloud. Max pulled his knees up to his face, and rested his chin on them; letting out a soft sigh.

It was silent for a few moments, which Max savoured, but it didn't last long. It never does at Camp Campbell.

Max grimaced as he heard a stick break near the tree he sat under. _If it's a bear, It better fucking ear me. That'd at least be more fun than seeing everyone else ever again._

The ten year old boy could hear steps behind a bush to his left. They were too light to be David's or Gwen's, but too heavy to be a squirrel or something; which narrowed his options down to a camper. _Please don't let it be her, please don't let it be her…_

Nikki hopped out of the bush, causing Max to let out a groan._ If the shit that went down in the mess hall is the universe kicking me in the balls, this is equivalent of the universe pouring gasoline on me and dropping a match._

"Hey Max." She smiles, walking over and sitting down beside him. She sounded happy, but not like her overly cheerful self.

"How did you find me?" He glanced at her, before quickling looking away to his right.

"I tracked your scent," She smiles, "My mom says I've got a nose of a coon dog! I've always been able to find my Christmas presents when she hides them, it's super easy."

"Uh huh."

"I, uh, also saw you sneak out of the Mess hall, and… I figured you'd probably wanted to be alone."

He scoffed, "That I did, yes."

"But… I don't think it's fair for either of us if we don't talk this out, y'know? We need to be open to eachother, figure this out. Like we're on Dr. Phil or something!"

"Nikki-"

"And I know you're gonna say you don't wanna talk or whatever, but we need to. We really do. I don't want my mistake ruining a super awesome friendship."

Max closed his mouth, falling silent. He pursed his lips, before sighing, "It… Wasn't just your mistake. It's my fault too, I guess. I don't know." He shrugs, grimacing at his words.

Nikki paused, before smiling softly, "I guess we both fucked up, huh?"

Max blinked and turned around to look at her, surprised to hear Nikki of all people swear, "Heh… yeah, I guess we kinda did."

There was an awkward silence that followed, and Max quickly looked away again; his eyes studying a fascinating piece of grass. Nikki kept her eyes on him though, her soft smile never falling.

"So… what do you wanna talk about?" Max asks surprisingly softly.

"Um, out of ten, how would you rate our kiss?" She asked teasingly, giggling when Max tensed up and looked at her.

"...Honestly," He started, after blushing silently for a few seconds, "I think the platypus could've frenched me better."

Nikki turns to him in annoyance, sticking out her tongue, "Oh, I'm so gonna set my pack of wolves on you!"

She couldn't keep up the act, and her fake frown turned back into a goofy grin. The tension between them finally broke away as they snickerered together. Max removed his gaze from the grass and looked at her, clearly feeling a _little_ better. They fell into a more comfortable silence, as they both tried to think of what to say next.

"Uh… do you actually have a crush on me?" Max asks, timid, "I mean, I don't blame you if you don't. I'm an asshole."

"I like you Max. I mean, _like like_ you," She shrinks slightly at her awkward wording.

"...Why?"

"Well, It started on swim day, remember? When you pushed in Neil? I got this really weird tingly feeling whenever I would look at you, whenever you'd say a snarky line to David. I didn't know what it was at first, but after talking to Gwen, I realized it was a crush. It's why I didn't want to tell you guys at Dinner that night, since I didn't know how you would respond."

She laid her hands on her knees, her legs crissed crossed. Her foot was poking against Max's jean covered calf, but neither of them noticed. Nikki paused, collecting her thoughts, before continuing.

"When you said you figured out who I liked, I was so happy! I thought it was your weird way of returning my feelings or something. Thinking things through has never been my specialty." She snickers softly.

"Yeah, I can tell." He snorted, smiling as well. She elbows his side gently, wrinkling her nose playfully.

"Yeah, well, you know the rest. Gwen convinces me to be dumber than usual, and I kiss you," Nikki pauses, a frown making way to her face, "Sorry about that by the way. Jerk move. I should've asked for permission or something."

Max scratches at his neck awkwardly, shrugging, "It's fine."

"Really?"

He shrugs, falling silent for a few moments, before continuing, "You… never actually answered my question."

"Hm?" Nikki looks back at him, her attention previously on an ant that had crawled onto her hand.

"_Why_ do you like me?"

"Ugh, do I have to explain myself?"

"I'd like you to, yeah," He shrugs, "Boosts my ego, makes me feel better about myself."

Nikki giggled, "Your head is plenty big without my help!"

It was now his turn to send her a dirty glare, but only a few seconds later, a small smirk graces his lips, "Seriously though, you didn't answer my question."

"Ok ok, fine," She sighs in annoyance, "Um, well, you're super smart. And so much fun, I love hanging out with you! We just…Work really well together, y'know?"

Max rested his chin on his knee once more, trying to hide the genuine smile on his face.

"And I mean, I love how tough you are, never backing away from a challenge. But… I also really like the stuff you hide from everyone. You're a super nice person under all that jerkyness."

"Jerkyness isn't a word."

"Too late, I already used it," She grins, "You're an awesome person Max, and I'd love for you to be in my pack."

"I'm not becoming a furry, if that's what you're asking." He jokes, but pauses when Nikki remains silent. Max sighs, rolling his eyes. "Um, thanks Nikki. I guess."

"No problem, Max," She grins, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Do you like like me?"

Max tensed at the question, grimacing. _What am I supposed to say here?_ He turns to face her, biting his lip nervously.

Nikki looked at him brightly, her expression soft, eyes inviting and trusting. Max let out a soft breath of air, glancing to the forest around them. _She trusted me, I might as well return the favor._

"...yeah."

Nikki jumps, her eyes widening impossibly big, "Wait, really?!"

"I-I mean, at least I think so."

"Explain how you feel! I'm basically a master at this stuff now."

He snorts, rolling his eyes, but relents, "At first, I thought it was just David and his gay ass optimism getting to me. I actually _felt_ bad about stuff I did to you and Neil. It's why I pushed the nerd into the lake in the first place." _God, that feels so long ago now._

"But the feeling persisted. My next idea what maybe the Quartermaster's food was finally killing me, but that thought was quickly derailed when you started talking about fucking crushes. It become so obvious, and I hated it." He sighs, rubbing at his eyes tiredly. "If that stupid butterfly feeling was an alarm clock, it became big fucking Ben when Ered entered the picture. I was so angry, jealous that you'd like a bitch like her. She used you for her own gain!"

He pauses, "...I guess I'm being a hypocrite though, since I've used you like that before too. Like you said, I'm a jerk; a class A one at that."

Nikki pouts, "I'm over it, now, get back to the story!"

He rolls his eyes, "Well, to assure myself that I definitely wasn't jealous, I made this stupid confession plan. Definitely not one of my proudest moments, it was sloppy work. I guess, in the end though, it did its job. Feelings were definitely exchanged, although, not with who I thought would be participating."

Nikki smiled, "Yeah, you got it bad. You definitely like me."

"Just as I feared."

She snorted, and the pair fell back into a comfortable silence.

After a few moments, Nikki let out a soft sigh, "So…What happens now?"

"What'd you mean?"

"I mean, we both like eachother, right? What happens? Do we date or…"

Max glanced at her, before looking back to the forest, "Hm, well, this is just a guess, but there's a high chance you get pregnant in the next ten years. Resulting in a forced marriage, dropping out of school, having another brat to try to rekindle our relationship. That ultimately fail which leads to both of us having multiple affairs. We end up getting divorced in our early thirties, I become an alcoholic and you remarry a rich accountant. His name will probably be named Dan, or something. Our kids will hate him, resulting in poor grades and rebellious behavior. Our daughter gets pregnant by a kid named Dylan, they met at Bible camp when they were 10, and the cycle restarts."

Nikki takes this all in, patting her chin thoughtfully, "Hm… I'll take it if we add in ten percent more wolves."

Max snorts, "Deal." They shake hands on it. Max retracts his hand and places it in his hoodie pocket, the back of his head now resting against the tree trunk. Meanwhile, Nikki continued to play with the bugs and grass around her. It was unspoken, but clear to both of them. If they went back to the camp now, they'd be teased without mercy; it would be best to wait it out as long as possible. That being either till the sun goes down, or David comes out and finds them.

Nikki began to giggle, causing Max to raise an eyebrow.

"What's up with you?"

Nikki snickered, "Heh, _you like me~"_

Max wrinkled his nose, that stupid _stupid_ tingling feeling making its way back across his face, "Ugh, don't make me change my mind."

"Max likes me!" She repeats teasingly.

"Shut up! Somebody might hear you!"

Nikki falls silent, before taking in a deep breath, and opening her mouth, screaming, "MAX LIKES M-"

Max lunges forward, covering her mouth with his hand, "I swear to god Nikki, you can be such a bitch sometimes."

Nikki giggled behind his hand, the noise muffled. Suddenly, Max retracted his hand from her mouth, eyebrows furrowed.

"Did you just lick me?!"

"Get over yourself, we've literally kissed before."

"T-That was one time." He blushed. Thanks to his darker skin tone, it was harder to tell, but Nikki seemed to notice all the same; a smirk rising to her lips.

"...What if it wasn't just one time."

"What are you saying?" He frowned, suspicious.

"Wanna do it again?" She asked devilishly.

Max jumps, turning to face her, "Jesus Christ Nikki, you can't just ask a guy that!"

Nikki quirked an eyebrow, her smirk only growing as she drinked in Max's flustered state. She gave him a knowing look, and Max swallowed.

"I-I mean, sure, whatever. I don't care. No strings attached, right?"

"I don't know what that means." She grins.

He sighs, shaking his head softly. To be honest, he didn't know what it meant either, not that he'd tell her that.

Nikki giggled at his reaction, scooting so her whole body faced his, "Close your eyes!"

Max hesitates, before exhaling out of his nose, closing his eyes. Nikki leaned forward until her nose touched his cheek. She could hear Max audibly swallow, but he stayed still, eyes still closed. _He's so warm, like a toasty campfire._

Max leaned back slightly, using his sweaty hands to hold himself up as Nikki leaned even closer._ I can't believe this is fucking happening to me._

There was a tense moment where nobody moved, where the only sounds they could focus on were eachother's breathing, the forest forgotten around them. Finally, Nikki closed the distance between them.

There was a moment of silence, before...

"OW! FUCKING HELL, NIKKI!" Max's arms buckled from behind him, causing him to fall onto his back with a grunt. Nikki laughed loudly, falling to her side and holding her stomach; gleeful giggles coming from the girl.

"D-did you fucking bite my face?!" Max sat up quickly, one of his hands covering the spot where Nikki had nipped him on his cheek, a couple inches to the right of his lips; his blue hoodie covered in dirt and leaves.

"I-I-I had to! It was too good of an opportunity!" She continued to giggle, wiping a tear out of her eye.

"Why the fuck would you do that, you asshole!" Max couldn't help but let a wide grin slip into his lips as he began to laugh as well. He grabbed a fistful of leaves with his free hand, and threw them at her.

"I felt like it!" She replied, swatting his ammo out of the air with her hand.

"Yeah, well, just because I feel like punching you in the face, doesn't mean I'm gonna do it!"

Nikki's laughter died off, but a smile still laid on her lips as she looked at him, "I didn't even bite you that hard."

"I think I'm bleeding."

Nikki suddenly leaned forward, and as promised from before, pecked Max on the lips. It lasted even shorter than the one in the mess hall, as Nikki was sitting back in her spot only after a few seconds of contact. That didn't stop the fact that Max's lips tingled long after she had leaned away.

"Do you feel better yet?"

Max swallowed, blushing brightly, "Much."

"Good! I bet David is waiting for us," She stands up, not bothering to wipe the dirt off her overalls, "I'm hungry for some lunch!"

Max rolls his eyes, and pushes himself off the ground, "Ugh, fine. Let's get this over with then." He picked a leaf out of his hair, letting it flutter back to the forest floor. The pair watched it fall, before looking at eachother, their gazes meeting. Nikki smiled, and gently grabbed Max's hand with her own.

"C'mon, Neil is probably waiting."

He glanced down at their connected hands, before a small smile came to his face, "He better be saving us a spot at our table."

"What if he isn't?" Nikki asks as they began the walk back to camp.

"...you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Prank?"

Max and Nikki share a childish smirk.

"Prank."

**Thank you for all the favs and reviews! Please keep them coming in. I'm thinking of writing another Makki fanfic, but I'm lacking an idea. Send me a prompt in the reviews, and I may do it! :)**

**Thanks again **


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